


The Art of Trick-or-Treating

by donnapaulsen (harrietspecter)



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: AU - Actress Donna Paulsen, AU - Kid Fic, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 10:39:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12651948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrietspecter/pseuds/donnapaulsen
Summary: Donna and Harvey take their kid on an authentic neighbourhood trick-or-treating for the first time with Harvey's family.





	The Art of Trick-or-Treating

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted:  
> a. Darvey take their son/daughter trick or treating for the first time  
> b: TRICK OR TREATING WITH THEIR OWN KID(S) ps: one of them has to be a girl

He had come home on Wednesday evening later than usual in an attempt to finish up work so they could spend the Halloween weekend at his father’s place in Boston and not be interrupted by clients with questions. It was approaching midnight when he walked in and noticed the overhead lights at the kitchen island were still on, and he turned the corner to find his wife, sitting on a barstool, with what he assumed to be dinner she had shared with their daughter at a normal hour earlier this evening.

He sets his briefcase on the floor near the island and lets out a long sigh and moves to Donna’s side, pressing his lips to her temple and whispering his hey.

“Hey,” Donna greets through a mouthful of macaroni and cheese. “There’s more in the oven if you’re hungry.”

"Oven?” He asks but moves away to the other side of the island to take it out anyway. 

“Your daughter wakes at the sound of your alarm going off for your 5:00 am runs. Do you think I was going to test that on the microwave at midnight when I’m starving?” Donna says with a slight laugh. “I wanted to eat my food while it was still hot.”

He chuckles and uses the hot pads, and notices there’s an extra plate still on the counter, so he sets the hot dish on the top of the stove as he closes the oven door and turns the stove off. 

He piles the macaroni and cheese onto his plate and sits on the barstool next to her. 

“How’s the world of corporate law this evening?” Donna jokes as she runs her fork of cheesy noodles through her puddle of ranch dressing on her plate.

“Pretty quiet for the start of the fourth quarter of the year,” Harvey says with a shrug.

They eat in silence as Donna scrolls through the various apps on her phone and looks at all the tagged pictures she’s in on Instagram with interest.

“You finish her costume?” Harvey asks between bites of his dinner. 

“Yep,” she nods as she likes a comment that made her chuckle a little inside. “And, of course, she wanted to watch  ** _The Little Mermaid_**  as I finished it. So we viewed it three times today.”

Harvey shook his head. 

“It’s your fault you know,” Harvey pointed out. “You’re the one who showed her all the princesses with the same hair colour as the two of you.”

She sets her phone down and stabs noodles on his plate and eats them and gives him a look. 

“You can do my dishes,” Donna says as she stands and sets her fork across her empty plate. “I have to pee.”

Harvey shakes his head and watches as she leaves the room and goes back to their bedroom. He finishes dinner and their dishes, and he’s yawning as peeks in the room across from theirs to find his little princess has decided to sleep at the foot of her bed. 

When he steps into his own room, Donna is laying on her side of the bed and has stolen one of his pillows. She’s far from sleep and watches as he moves through his nightly routine. After stripping down to his boxer briefs, he climbs into bed, and she shifts to find a comfortable position as she moves closer to him.

“How long did you nap today?” He asks quietly as his fingers weave through her locks. 

“Umm, five-ish hours between the two naps?” She sighs. “I’m exhausted but can’t sleep. Big surprise.”

His fingers move from her hair to steal under the sheets and run down her side to her waist, drawing a pattern on the side of her growing belly.

“I can tell you a riveting tale about the meeting Jessica and I just had with Paul Porter and his bowtie trying to convince us we should switch the firm’s compensation structure,” he tells her while still tracing patterns on her belly.

“You paid attention?” She asks with more than a hint of scepticism in her tone.

“Well, Jessica told me the highlights. His bow tie was a bunch of little pumpkins and aliens. I was fascinated and worried at the same time,” Harvey recalled.

“Elizabeth definitely gets her attention span from you,” Donna quietly laughs. “But, sure, bore me to sleep.”

Harvey pouts a little, but soon enough he launches into his day that had been jam-packed with meetings.

\--  
Thursday, the day before Halloween, is a slow start to their long weekend. Harvey decided to let Donna sleep in a little and gets their three-year-old daughter ready for a half a day of driving, but she’s a little hostile in the way only three-year-olds can get away with, and she wakes Donna with her jagged crying. 

He’s looking apologetic as Elizabeth runs and hugs her mother’s legs and Donna decides today a bribe will get them closer to a successful morning and future nap, so she suggests going out to get hot chocolate and pancakes and Elizabeth stops crying and looks up at her mother with wide brown eyes. She has to let her father put her in warm clothes since its autumn, and they compromise with one of her rejected costumes. And as Harvey helps her dress as Donna gets dressed from her pajamas into something loose and comfortable for a walk down a few blocks, he thinks about the past Halloweens they’ve had as a family.

Her first Halloween, Elizabeth was two months old, and Donna was in Los Angeles doing talk show rounds with the various networks promoting her film that was coming out and a new television show she was taking part in. Naturally, where mom went, the new baby went. She had taken pictures of their baby dressed in a little monkey onesie costume they had picked out when they had gone outfit shopping and sent them to him via text. It was a welcome respite from the frustrating day of court he had when he got back to his office to find pictures and a video waiting. When they had FaceTimed later that night, he watched as his little monkey fell asleep as Donna unwrapped candy she had received in the guest dressing rooms as they talked about their respective long days. 

Her second Halloween, they had moved into a new building and didn’t know any of the neighbours. So, Donna had the day off from the set, and she took the little Nemo in with her to Pearson Specter and the partners and associates were kind enough to take a minute out of their day to let the two-year-old get candy. Harvey had been meeting with a client so they were a surprise in the office when he came back. Elizabeth had wiggled out of Jessica’s arms and ran to the elevators to reach for her father. It had been an Instagram-worthy photo with little hands squishing Harvey’s cheeks in an attempt to make fish lips as he grinned. That picture was a top ten of the year as it passed over 100,000 likes. A new record for her that year.

Now, her third Halloween would be the first time she’d experience trick or treating for real as Donna was wrapping her series and had gotten Thursday and Friday off and Harvey was the one with the idea to give her a real trick or treating experience like they had when they were kids. Donna reminded him that she had spent most of her younger trick-or-treating years in Cortland where the houses tend to be half a mile away or longer. He gave her a look because he was just trying to make a gesture and she laughed and told him it was sweet. 

As bribed, they eat breakfast at the café down the street. As they walk, Elizabeth is between them, dressed as a little zookeeper with a little giraffe wrapped around her neck. Elizabeth’s hands are in either one of Donna’s and Harvey’s and every few minutes Elizabeth counts  _one, two, ‘free_ , and she’s lifted between them, and a giggle makes its way past her lips. 

Their daughter can’t contain her excitement at the little foam pumpkin the barista draws in the milky froth of her hot chocolate. While waiting for their food, Donna sets all their drinks together to show off the art of a maple leaf, a pumpkin, and a cat face in their respective beverages. Of course, little fingers that are more interested in continuing to sneak the extra chocolate powder feature in the picture she edits for her Instagram.

“You know your most loyal fans will be here within ten minutes,” Harvey points out as he sees she tags the location.

“Why do you think I always post it as we’re finishing?” Donna says as she shows him it’s all set to be posted, but she hasn’t pressed the done button. “I’d like to eat these pancakes in peace.”

Harvey looks at her with slight concern as she wraps her scrambled eggs in a pancake with a bit of syrup. But he learned to stop asking, and it’s not like anyone in the café is paying attention to them.

Elizabeth eats her one along with her eggs, separately, and since they’re sitting on the same side, she leans into his side, and her fork touches his french toast in an effort to steal it. He takes the hint and cuts it up, and Donna laughs and shares a conspiratory grin with their daughter as father and daughter share the remainder of Harvey’s breakfast.

When they get back to the condo, it’s much easier to finish packing the last minute items and loading the SUV for the nearly five-hour drive–in good traffic–to Boston when mother and daughter are sated with food.

And, it’s a more leisurely drive when, a few hours in, both of his passengers are asleep, and he can listen to his music in peace.

\--  
When they get to Gordon Specter’s hour in the late afternoon, Marcus and his family were already there. It looked like they had come straight from school as two bright pink backpacks sit near the coat rack in the entryway. His father was watching a rerun of some show, his brother and his wife were on the couch, and it looked like the five and seven-year-olds were outside burning off energy. 

He opens the door with Elizabeth still half asleep in his arms and an overnight bag hanging on his shoulder while Donna held the garment bag all their costumes were in for tomorrow night. 

They say passing  _hellos_  as they head upstairs for his old bedroom to set their stuff down before heading back downstairs.

When he finally sat down on the loveseat with Donna, Katie made an effort to clear her throat loudly and dramatically. 

He heard Donna sigh, and he hid his grin by pretending to check to see if Elizabeth had fallen back asleep or if she was just quietly observing the scene around her. It was the latter.

In Katie Specter’s hands was the most recent issue of  ** _Vanity Fair_**  with Donna’s face on the cover. It was fitting that she be on the October issue and get to dress up in Halloween costumes considering this is her favourite holiday. 

“I see you’ve found a fascinating read,” Donna says as she leans forward on the cushion she sits on. She turns to Gordon. “How many did you buy?”

“I’m kinda digging that you’re Ariel, Merida, Elastigirl, and Elsa, all in one article. But the best part is probably your little Anna,” Katie laughs as Gordon pretends like he doesn’t hear Donna. 

“They were going to have me be Anna, but when they saw her, well, they decided she’d make her modelling debut,” Donna says with a laugh. 

She gets up from the couch and moves to the kitchen to get herself water and thinks if she’s hungry, Elizabeth is bound to be as well and sneaks some Chex Mix from Gordon’s pantry.

“I’m wondering about the new feature coming in April 2015,” Gordon says with his brows raised as he ignores the television for a moment. “Your IMDB doesn’t list any projects with that release date.”

It had been one of the last questions they asked what she had been looking forward to in 2015 and she had laughed before answering ’ _Probably my feature in April 2015_ ’ and not giving any more details.

Before she sits on the loveseat again, she turns to her audience and her hand that holds the bag of Chex Mix moves to her tunic, and smooths the material over her growing but still a moderately small bump for 18 weeks.

“Our new feature,” Donna laughs. “Due like nineteen days before I have to go back to work on the new season in April.”

“Shit,” Marcus finally pipes up and hands over a fifty dollar bill to his father.

Gordon winks at Harvey as Donna sits on the loveseat again and she and Elizabeth dig into his Chex Mix.  
–  
In an effort to have Elizabeth’s first real Halloween be memorable, they all decided it would be a family-themed event. 

“I’m starting to regret this costume,” Donna says as she catches Harvey’s eyes in the mirror as she teases her hair a little more with her pick comb.

Harvey gives her an appreciative once over as she stands up straight.

She was wearing a black bateau neckline, high waisted dress that had violet, lavender, purple, white, and black tulle draping down the waist to make her look like an octopus without the gaudy appendages. 

She had teased her hair with enough product to wonder if it would set itself on fire near an open flame. Her off-white hair sits in a messy beehive. She has shockingly bright red lipstick on and the most vivid blue eyeshadow colour he’d ever seen.

“Because it’s supposed to rain later?” He asks.

“More like my boobs hurt, my back hurts, and I swear my feet are also starting to swell the longer I stand here,” she sighs and tosses the comb in her hands onto the counter.

Harvey steps into her personal space and his hands move over her hips through the tulle. He spaces out his thumbs on either side of her lower back to find the familiar knot on either side. His thumbs work in a tiny, circular motion with ease as he presses close.

She leans her hands against the counter as she breathes in and out slowly.

“Better?” He asks after a few minutes of kneading and watching her mirrored reflection.

“It’s a start,” she concedes. 

“Mmh,” he says with a laugh as he backs away and lets her turn to face him. “You smell like baby powder.”

“Can’t exactly use the temporary hair dye,” she says with a sigh as she presses a hand to her growing belly that’s somewhat hidden in the folds of tulle.

“You could have worn a wig,” he points out and regrets it as soon as she narrows her eyes.

“I just wore a wig on and off for the last month. These locks need to breathe,” Donna reminds him. “And all this new hair growth is making my scalp itchy, so it’s a good thing we’re wrapping soon.”

“Let’s go get our little Ariel so we can trick-or-treat and then I can feed you. And I even went to get that god awful spumoni ice cream and some potato chips for you from the store.”

Donna frowns because that’s exactly what she wants. She hates that her cravings are predictably the same.

“The tabloids think my cravings are ice cream and pickles,” she notes as she follows him out of the washroom.

“I bought pickles once for sandwiches,” Harvey says as he shakes his head.

“Apparently if you buy ice cream and pickles at the same time, they report I am pregnant, and they assume it’s for me,” Donna shrugs her shoulders.

“Well, I mean, they’re not wrong with one report. We just haven’t officially confirmed it? Nevermind we also bought like thirty other items at the grocery store that day,” Harvey sighs but drops the subject as they find themselves now on the outskirts of his father’s living room with a grumpy little Sebastian, a crying Flounder, and a mischevious looking Ariel in the arms of King Triton.

“That’s all you,” Donna pats Harvey’s arm before moving to the coat rack to get her black hoodie–just in case it does start to rain.

Harvey moves and takes Elizabeth from his father’s arms.

“She hasn’t done anything,” Gordon says. “But I know that look, so I kept her out of the fray.”

Her little brown eyes are twinkling with mischief, and her little dimples are showing as she laughs as her two cousins get reprimanded by Marcus who’s the crazy Chef Louis and Katie, dressed as Carlotta, the palace maid. Harvey tampers his own smile and figures the best course of action is just to leave the situation before he starts to laugh and set a bad example.

“Let’s have you go potty before we head out,” Harvey says as he walks back to the washroom on this floor to let his brother and sister-in-law handle their fighting children.

Donna had gone with a long sleeve peach-coloured leotard for Elizabeth’s costume to keep her warm. Ariel’s familiar purple seashell top was carefully stuck on the leotard thanks to neat strips of iron-on adhesive that’s usually used to hem pants magically. She was determined to keep their three-year-old warm while trick or treating without compromising the costume, and since she couldn’t sew worth a damn, improvisation is essential.

She had the foresight to get one that had buttons, so there was no catastrophes or wardrobe malfunctions as Harvey helped Elizabeth out of her green sequence skirt and lime green leggings to keep her warm. He thinks Donna will teach her to hold skirts and dresses up after she masters the main point–to go when she needs to and without prompting or them noticing the familiar “potty dance.”

For his own Prince Eric costume, he’d stuck with his own clothes–a bright white button down and dark blue jeans. He had to find a pair of black snow boots, and he had folded his jeans up to where the boots and pants meet. Donna had snuck a red sash from the costume department to tie around his waist, and he sported a combover and had enough pomade to make it darker than his sandy-brown natural hair colour.

All in all, it was quite the family affair, and Donna made sure to capture the whole thing with video and pictures.

\--  
Gordon Specter lived on a cul de sac in one of Boston’s suburban, middle-class neighbourhoods where everyone knew everybody, and there were monthly neighbourhood cookouts.

To begin, they practice at Gordon’s door, and Marcus’s kids participate thanks to a bribe of ten dollars from Harvey for their time.

The seven-year-old rings the bell and Gordon answers the door with such enthusiasm Elizabeth wiggles excitedly and giggles out a version of trick-or-treat and attempts to go back inside.

“Hey, wait, you don’t go into the houses,” Harvey says as he scoops her up. “You say  _trick-or-treat_  and then wait for candy.”

Harvey nods, and they try it again. That time she doesn’t go in, but as they call it a success and Gordon deposits a box of Milk Duds in her bag, she digs through her bag and hands said tote to Harvey and runs to Donna whose conversing with Katie at the end of the driveway.

There’s a brief meltdown as Donna explains treats are for after its all done but her tears vanish when Donna says they can share this one box until tonight after dinner. Elizabeth doesn’t know the box only holds four and Donna takes two for herself as she hands the open box back to Elizabeth as they begin at the neighbour’s house for the official start.

With Gordon living on the block for the past 15 years, it’s not surprising when neighbours see Donna, Harvey, and Elizabeth with Gordon, Marcus, and Marcus’ family as they trick-or-treat, they want to chat with the New Yorkers who only make the occasional holiday visit. Thankfully, they refrain and just mention they need to catch up one night when they’re still here or plan something at a later date.

Harvey’s tenth grade English teacher lives a block down from his dad, so it’s no surprise he spends a little more time here and makes Donna come up the driveway with him and Elizabeth. The woman reminds him that he almost failed her class by failing to participate in the theatre portion of class and wonders how he appreciates the stage and acting because he’s been married to a famous actress for the past eight years.

“I’m a Donna fan, Mrs Burkowicz,” Harvey shrugs. “Maybe if I had gone to tenth grade in Hartford, I would have passed English with more than a B-.”

Donna bites the inside of her cheek and Harvey tilts his head and grins.  
Elizabeth’s trick-or-treat sounds more like ’ _tick-er-teat_ ’ and Harvey stifles a laugh each time she mutters it.

Elizabeth gets an extra handful of candy despite her father’s sass.

“For you and your mom,” Mrs Burkowicz says as she looks to the little Ariel whose eyes are huge as she looks between her canvas tote and the lady who just gave her treats.

“No, dad,” Elizabeth conspires.

Donna decides now is the perfect time to laugh aloud, and she takes Elizabeth’s hand and starts to walk away.

Harvey looks back at his old English teacher, and the woman winks before shutting the door.

Donna and Harvey take turns walking up the driveways with the rest of his family as they continue moving throughout the neighbourhood.

They make it almost four more blocks before Elizabeth gets tired of walking and asks to be held by Harvey. It’s another seven blocks before she falls asleep and they go another ten before the sky begins to darken and Donna’s steps slow because her back aches, her feet are sore, and she’s hungry for something that isn’t candy that she’s been sneaking every few blocks from Elizabeth’s bag she carries.

Donna thinks she’s going to really enjoy this weekend eating through their kid’s candy and wondering how many slices of Pinocchio’s she can eat without getting tired of the cheesy goodness.

\--  
Elizabeth was still passed out, leaning against her mother as Donna lounged against the arm of the couch with her feet in Harvey’s lap as he sat on the far cushion and absentmindedly worked his fingers against the muscles and tendons in Donna’s feet and calves. They were waiting for Katie and Marcus to get back with the pizza, pasta, and salad before waking Elizabeth. With Elizabeth draped alongside her and stuck between her mother and the couch, Donna’s skirt and dress material were pulled enough that everyone in the room could really see the swell of her belly. 

“You know what it is yet?” Gordon asks as he watched his daughter-in-law run her fingers through her daughter’s hair as the less boisterous Specter family shared the room. The other little kids are in the kitchen trading candy and drinking a can of soda they’re not really supposed to have in an effort to get a sugar rush while mom and dad are away and grandpa’s in charge.

“Uh, a few days ago, the ultrasound tech accidentally said it’s a girl,” Donna says as she looks over at her father-in-law with a small smile. “95% certain.”

“Both my sons, surrounded by females,” Gordon chuckles. “Did Marcus let you know they’re trying for a boy?”

Harvey shook his head, but Donna nodded.

“Katie was wondering if we’re going to have another. I told her we needed to get through birthing this one before thinking about a number three,” Donna says honestly.

Gordon chuckles, and Harvey already feels slightly overwhelmed by the thought.

As Harvey and his father play catch up, Donna finds a fantastic photo of the three of them where her bump is visible and decides to let her fans in on their secret. After all, its been almost a month of speculation since  ** _Vanity Fair_**  was published with her cryptic interview answer and thankfully her coworkers and the set crew kept mum even as fans began to stalk the set more and tweet at her fellow cast members.

In the photo outside on the lawn of Gordon’s house, Elizabeth is having a little meltdown, pulling on the tulle skirt of her mother’s and therefore showing off her baby bump as Donna, as Ursula, kisses Harvey, as Prince Eric. When Katie sees it on her own feed the next day, she jokingly demands a photo cred, and when Donna does indeed photo cred her username, Katie ends up with hundreds of new follower requests.

She posts another two during the weekend in Boston. One of the backs of the entire crew walking down the sidewalk–she doesn’t like to feature the faces of little ones, including her own, just to keep something private. The last is a shot of Harvey and Elizabeth as they sit on the rug and sort out the Halloween candy. In the photo, Elizabeth is sharing an M&M with her father.

That weekend, Donna tells Harvey they should really do the whole neighbourhood-type trick-or-treating every year, and she hopes the family-themed trick-or-treats last at least until Elizabeth is a teenager and therefore becomes too cool to dress the same as her soon-to-be sister.

Harvey wonders if it’d be appropriate to also buy a house in New York to escape to for the weekends. And, for future trick-or-treating adventures. And, maybe to even start hosting holidays and inviting people and having enough room to spare.


End file.
